


Acting my age

by Gabibar03



Category: Graduate (Band), Tears for Fears (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:35:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29501403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabibar03/pseuds/Gabibar03
Summary: 1978. After trying different bass players for his band Graduate, Roland Orzabal calls an old friend to take part. Retaking their friendship, new feelings start to arise.
Relationships: Roland Orzabal/Caroline Johnston, Roland Orzabal/Curt Smith
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fictional ship between real life characters. Please do not read if it makes you uncomfortable.
> 
> I'm not a native English speaker. This is my first time writing in English, apologies for any grammatical inaccuracy. Positive feedback is highly appreciated ;)

The band was rehearsing the new song Roland had written just a few weeks ago. The music could be heard even from outside the room, on a street level. Lifting the spirits of the people passing by on a very grey Sunday afternoon.

Suddenly a strange sound came from Roland’s guitar, he missed the chords he was supposed to play. The band just continued as if nothing had happened. Roland tried to concentrate on what he was playing again, but failed. He signalled the others to stop playing. 

“Um, sorry guys, but can we go from the beginning again?”.

“Sure,”, “No problem” the other guys replied. John looked at him with a questioning look on his face, but Roland just shaked his head and ignored him. “One, two, three…” Andy shouted. The band started to play the song again, this time in its entirety.

After playing the song 3 more times they called it quits. “See ya tomorrow” waved Garry to their bandmates as he shut the door. Soon followed Steve and Andy.

Roland waited until the other guys left as well, before starting a conversation with John.  
John put his guitar on the stand and turned to talk to Roland. “What was that? Are you okay? You didn’t seem to focus much today”.

“Well, I’ve been thinking…” started Roland, pausing for effect. “Wow, now you can think!” John mocked.

“Shut up,” Roland replied. “I can’t stand Garry anymore, the way he plays is getting to my nerves. I just couldn’t concentrate today. At this song he just plays awful, and we’ve tried everything for him to improve”. Roland finished with an exasperated tone on his voice.

“I know, but that’s the best we could get, he’s better than nothing.” John replied. “ You know how difficult it was for us to find a semi decent bass player”. 

“I wanna ditch him,” Roland said plainly. 

“Woah, and I suppose you are going to play bass then? You know we need two guitars” John replied in disbelief. “We spent months trying to find a bass player and now you just want to get rid of him?”

“I think we both know we are not getting anywhere with him” said Roland in pure honesty.

“What is your suggestion then?” John asked curiously.

“Well, that’s what I’ve been thinking…” Roland replied with a pensive look. “I think I found the right person to do it!” John waited expectantly for Roland’s reply, but the guy seemed to zone out.

Roland was lost in his own thoughts. He could remember him perfectly, how he moved when they were playing, how he connected with the drum beat. It was like if everytime the music started he got possessed and started to dance to the rhythm. 

“Ro!” John waved at him. Roland was taken back to reality. “Oh, sorry, I was thinking about him” he apologised. 

“Well, who is he then? How long has he been playing bass? How come you never mentioned him before?” John asked with an anxious tone.

“Well, actually he doesn’t play the bass” Roland half-smiled scratching the back of his head.  
“What? Is this a joke?” John couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“No, I’m serious, but I truly believe that he can be a great bass player” Roland changed to a more serious tone. 

“Okay, let me get this straight, you want to ditch Garry for a guy you think can be a great bass player but never played the fucking instrument in his whole life?” John spoke trying to make sense of the situation. “You know how crazy that sounds, right?” 

“Well, yeah…” Roland looked at his feet while scratching his head again. 

“Give me a good reason why I should give a fuck of what you’re saying” John retorted.

“My instinct” Roland said, in a tone that looked like it made perfect sense. “You have to admit that it has led us to pretty good things so far,” he finished. 

John rolled his eyes. “Who’s the guy anyway?”

“Um, I have told you about him before, we were in this school band “The Ducks” back then. Nothing serious, we didn’t even have a bassist. But we had a lot of fun.” Roland said tenderly remembering those moments. “He has an incredible voice and I truly believe he would be a great bassist, his name is Curt”.

“Okay, well, if you feel it might work, just talk to him” John arched his brow. “ I know you will do it anyway, regardless of what I say”. He finished in a defeated tone.

Roland grinned at that. “Okay, I’ll see how I can reach him. We haven’t been in touch lately. I think the last time I saw him was almost one year ago.”

“Ohh, you’re fucking kidding me, right? D’ya know if the guy is still alive?”

“Shut up John, let’s go”. Roland replied, closing the door behind him and getting on to the street.


	2. Chapter 2

Roland was standing in front of the door of a flat in the council estate building of Snow Hill. It had been almost a year since he hadn’t been there. He really never understood how he lost touch with him in the first place. They were very close friends, always in each other's pocket.   
It felt like yesterday since they were getting drunk to cider in the backyard of Curt’s house while making plans on how to bang on girls, but always failing miserably. But the most important were all the moments that they spent listening to and playing music, their most heartfelt passion.   
Probably it was the fact that both of their parents never approved their friendship in the first place. Roland’s mom was terrified when she found out about all the detentions Curt got in his school and the impressive list of petty crimes he held for such a young lad.

After Roland dropped out of school, he would sneak at all times into Curt’s house to meet him. They would spend till past midnight in Curt’s room playing their favourite records and talking about crazy theories, and the following day Curt would be late for college. Eventually Mrs. Smith banned Roland from entering the house, since it was affecting his son’s academic performance. Since Curt would spend almost all day at college, feeling very tired after it, and with the impossibility to meet at Curt’s house they eventually stopped seeing each other. Roland had fallen into a very deep depression by that time, but never told Curt about it. Not being able to go to Curt’s house anymore, he would just spend all day laying in bed. He only got better after he started a new band with his friend John. 

Roland never thought about it, but he really missed his old friend. There was something about him that made him feel different than being with any other friend he had. He realised he had tried to replace him for John in his heart but couldn’t. Their friendship was something so special and unique, that Roland couldn’t put into words.

He knocked on the door and patiently waited. Mentally wishing not to be met by Norma, he sighed in relief when the door opened. And there he was, Curt looking at him with surprised eyes. A very big smile suddenly appeared on his face.

“Roland!” Curt shouted, not wasting one more second and putting his friend into a tight hug. Roland’s heart melted a little, feeling his so-missed friend’s warm body, his tight arms wrapped around him. He hugged him back, not wanting to let go.

“What a surprise! I missed you. How are you doin’?” Curt eventually let go of Roland. Roland couldn’t hide his smile, it felt so good to be here again. He hesitated when entering the place. “Come in, don’t worry, my mom’s not home.” Curt added seeing a little bit of a tension in Roland’s eyes. Roland sighed in relief, never aware that he was actually nervous about it. “That’s good! I missed you too”. Roland replied.

As they entered Curt’s bedroom, Roland’s heart started to beat faster. He was too excited about the proposal he was about to make.

“I’m very happy to see you, Ro. But what brings you here?” Curt said, not trying to sound rude, but he was very curious about it. They had lost all contact for almost a year! And all of a sudden there he was knocking on his door.

“Well, I have a proposal to make to you Curt” Roland replied solemnly sitting in Curt’s bed. That caught Curt’s attention. He sat at his desk chair.

“I hope it’s not an indecent proposal” Curt jokes, gaining a hard laugh from Roland. “You wish!” Roland doubled his bet. 

“Actually, this is a musical proposal.” Roland started with a more serious tone. “You know, I’ve been in a new band for awhile, and for some time I’ve been toying with the idea of inviting you to join us”.

“Oh, that sounds great! Really great actually”. Curt’s face lit up. “I thought that you were singing now though. Do you need a second singer?”

Roland scratched the back of his head. “Actually…” He hesitated. “I want you to play bass guitar for us”. 

Curt shot him a shocked look, trying to make sense of what his friend just said. “What?” Curt asked, not sure if he heard correctly. “You know I don’t play bass”.

“Yeah, but I want you to be our bass player. I know you can be a great bass player, you really feel the rhythm, that's what we need”. Roland said, gesturing with his hands as if what he just said made perfect sense. Curt arched his brow in a funny way, was Roland crazy?

“I could teach you. I’m sure you’ll pick it up immediately. What d’ya say?” Roland asked expectantly.

Curt thought about it for a second. He loved challenges, and he needed some excitement in his life. He was just one step away from quitting college, maybe this was the opportunity he’s been waiting for!

“I could do that,” Curt said as if he was talking to himself. “Yeah, definitely. I’ll do it” he finished, with the biggest smile on his face.

“I knew it” Roland jumped with excitement hugging his friend, who almost fell from the chair as they lost balance. Both laughed so hard. “And of course you could sing, I wouldn’t miss the chance of listening to your beautiful voice for anything in this world!”


End file.
